Israel must stop targeting journalists
On Monday, Israeli forces killed two journalists in Gaza: Hossam Shabat and Mohammad Mansour.
Hossam Shabat, who worked for Al Jazeera and other outlets, was only 23. Israeli forces targeted his car as he travelled through Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza.
Mohammad Mansour, a journalist working for Palestine Today, was killed in his home with his family in Khan Younis following an Israeli army strike.
We strongly condemn the killings.
Once more, we’re seeing the troubling pattern of Israel affiliating Palestinian journalists with militant groups, and using these accusations to justify targeting them. Following the killing of Hossam Shabat, Israeli authorities issued a statement saying they had ‘eliminated... a sniper terrorist from the Beit Hanun Battalion of the Hamas terrorist organisation, who was also employed as a journalist by Al Jazeera’. But there is no evidence for this claim.
We have repeatedly stated that Israel’s conflation of ‘propaganda’ activities and combat functions is contrary to international law. Under international humanitarian law, journalists are considered civilians and must be protected. The threshold for designating them as combatants is exceptionally high, and targeting journalists under vague and unsubstantiated allegations undermines their protected status.
We call on the International Criminal Court to carry out an independent investigation. We also reiterate our calls for the International Criminal Court to prioritise its investigation into the circumstances surrounding all the killings of journalists in Gaza documented since the war began in October 2023.
The international community must take action to end this prolonged war and the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Read our policy brief ‘Clearing the Fog of War: Protecting Freedom of Expression in Armed Conflict’.
